Alex and Kazuki were on their knees, bodies trembling as they struggled just to stay upright. Every breath burned, every movement felt like their muscles were tearing apart.
Zodia stood before them, completely unscathed.
He tilted his head slightly and spoke in a calm, almost bored tone.
"Are you satisfied?"
"You've done everything you could… and yet it still wasn't enough to beat me."
He took a few steps closer.
"So what's it going to be?"
"Are you going to surrender like cowards… or keep fighting and get your asses beaten?"
Kazuki clenched his fists, his thoughts spiraling.
"Honestly… who is this guy?
How are we supposed to beat him?His speed was overwhelming. His physical strength was absurd.
His reaction time—his presence—everything about him was on a completely different level. Alex and I are A-Rank…We have enough power to wipe out entire countries. We're casually walking disasters. But this guy…He could end the world if he wanted to."
The realization hit him like a blade.
"We're screwed!".
Kazuki turned toward Alex—
Only to see him gritting his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, fury burning in his eyes, veins growing in his eyes.
Alex raised his head slowly and shouted, his voice shaking with rage.
"WHY?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!".
"FOR FUCK SAKE, JUST TELL US!"
"WHAT'S YOUR AIM?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
Zodia paused.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Then—
He began to giggle.
The giggle turned into laughter "HAHAHAHHHAAAH!"
Soon, Zodia was laughing uncontrollably, clutching his stomach as his voice echoed across the ruined land "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!".
When he finally stopped, he wiped a tear from his eye and grinned.
"If only you could see the look on your faces."
Alex's fists clenched tighter.
"Why I'm doing this?", he asked before he continued Zodia continued as he said with a very dark and twisted smirk "Well… it's because I want to destroy everything."
The words struck like thunder.
Alex and Kazuki froze, disbelief written all over their faces.
Zodia kept talking.
"You came here to fight Ukina, right?"
"Well, everything leading up to this moment was planned."
He turned his gaze toward Alex.
"You're the last demon, aren't you?"
"You want to know why she needed your power? Why she created an entire group just to capture you?"
Zodia smiled wider.
"It was so she could free me."
Kazuki's eyes widened in horror.
"No way…!A threat like this could've been unleashed earlier… and no one could've stopped him?"
Alex, on the other hand, felt paranoia crawl up his spine "What the....! To free you?", he mumbled.
Zodia spread his arms.
"My true goal was to destroy the world."
"Not because I wanted to."
"But because this world is nothing but evil."
His voice grew louder
"A massive pile of filth shaped like a giant ball."
"All you humans know how to do is kill and destroy."
"You start wars."
"You create problems for yourselves."
"And it's not just humans—every being with life does the same."
"The weak are trampled because they cant do anything."
"The strong are feared because they surpass logical thinking."
"It's all bullshit!"
His energy flared violently.
"Everything… is bullshit!"
Zodia smirked and yelled with pure excitement.
"THAT'S WHY I'LL DESTROY EVERYTHING! THE WORLD! THE UNIVERSE! EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE!"
"ALL OF IT WILL BE DESTROY BY ME AND ME ALONE!".
A massive surge of energy erupted from Zodia's body, destroying everything like wild lightning.
He continued, his tone calmer—but far more dangerous.
"This whole time, I've been playing with you kids because I found you interesting."
"When you said you wanted power for your own reasons… I decided I'd be the one to test you."
"To see if you were strong enough to take me down."
"And others like me as well."
"There are beings far more powerful than myself out there."
"That's why once I regain my full power… I'll destroy this world and absorb everything that exists within this reality."
Zodia started to growl with excitement "Existence itself will bend to me."
"Universes will be under my command."
"I'll rule over every concept.", Zodia looked like a shadowy figure, his eyes glowing red as he looked at his palms "I'll be the one and only supreme being!".
Alex snorted.
"Wow… what a speech."
He lifted his head, a deranged smile spreading across his face.
"I almost felt bad for you."
"…Almost gave a fuck."
"But I don't care."
"I'll be the one to put you down."
"There's no fucking way I die here."
"I'll become the strongest."
"And I'll tear apart anything that threatens someone important to me."
His eyes locked onto Zodia.
"Including you, you sick son of a bitch."
Zodia chuckled.
"You know… I've fought many powerful beings throughout my existence."
"I once fought a human known as the Sealing King—the strongest human to ever lived. I presume he was from the City of Kagahara of that time.". Alex and Kazuki were a bit stunned by that piece of information "Kagahara?", Kazuki thought with shock in his mind.
"He could seal anything using magic circles."
"He nearly sealed the entire planet itself."
"A god among humans."
"And I defeated him using only seventy percent of my power."
Alex's breath caught for a moment.
"He had a right-hand man," Zodia continued.
"His brother—the Ice Lord."
"He could freeze matter to absolute zero."
"He was powerful enough to recreate the Ice Age."
"I fought him two years after killing his brother."
Zodia's gaze shifted.
"I also fought the ruler of the demon clan."
"His name was Kazuma—the Spirit Lord."
Alex's eyes widened.
"Dad was right…
He really did fight him."
Zodia nodded.
"He wasn't as strong as the others… but he was a prodigy. And if he had grown any stronger than he was at that time, he'd be a genuine problem. In short, he was a problem among prodigies. Kazuma Starion.... was something that appears only once in thousands of generations."
"His speed."
"His destructive power."
"His ability to analyze weaknesses."
"How creative he was."
"Truly one in a million."
He looked at Alex and Kazuki.
"And now here you are."
"The Spirit Lord's son."
"And a boy wielding lightning and flames… a spirit in his own right."
"You're impressive."
"But I'm afraid I have to put you down."
Zodia formed several hand signs.
With a smirk, he commanded:
"Arise—Great Pillars of God's Light."
The ground split open.
Massive pillars of blinding light erupted from the earth, magic circles spinning above each one.
Kazuki stared in disbelief.
"This… this attack—!"
"It's similar to my lightning technique!"
He got annoyed.
"I'll use Inferno God!"
"It's my last trump card!"
Purple flames and lightning exploded from his body, merging together into a colossal being formed of fire and thunder.
Zodia smirked.
"You really think that'll stop me?"
"I won't lie—it looks cool."
"But it won't save you."
Kazuki glared back, exhausted and furious.
"Try me, bitch!", he growled.
END OF CHAPTER